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Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association said Thursday it has asked the National Mediation Board to help out in slow-moving contract talks with the airline.

“This is certainly not a step either side wants to take during negotiations, and certainly not a typical step in the pilot and management relationship at Southwest Airlines,” SWAPA president Mark Richardson said in the union’s announcement. “But times have certainly changed.”

The release said that “after two-plus years of negotiations both sides are currently too far apart to realistically expect an agreement outside of a mediated process.”

UPDATE, 12:40 p.m.: Southwest gave us this response from Randy Babbitt, Southwest’s senior vice president of labor relations (and former president of the Air Line Pilots Association):

“We have been optimistic that we were closing the gap to achieve a new agreement, but the SWAPA Board stopped further negotiations and has chosen mediation as its next step. We have the best, most professional pilots in the industry, and we want to ensure that they are not only fairly compensated for their excellence, but that their futures are secure.”

Babbitt said the airline had told the union it was willing to file jointly for mediation, a step that would have permitted “expedited mediation,” but that union declined the offer.

ORIGINAL ITEM: Southwest is currently in negotiations with most of its unions and has a tentative agreement with only one – the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents airport and reservation agents. IAM members vote on their deal Dec. 2.

SWAPA was among the unions that sent a letter to Southwest chairman and CEO Gary Kelly in June warning that the “magic” was gone and that the carrier had to fix morale problems by giving unions new contracts.

The SWAPA contract, which covers more than 7,000 pilots, became amendable in August 2012. With SWAPA’s request, three unions have asked for mediation in their contract talks.

On Monday, the International Associaiton of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents customer service agents and representations at Southwest Airlines, announced it had filed for mediation in its contract talks.

On Tuesday, Southwest issued a lengthy statement in response to the IAM’s request to the National Mediation Board:

“While we will certainly honor the IAM’s desire to request national mediation assistance, we are shocked and disappointed by their sudden request. The Company has only presented an initial proposal on economics to IAM, to which the Union never formally responded. That economic proposal included performance bonuses, potential incentives to boost Employee earning power, and an increase in fixed wage rates.

“We go into this request knowing that our Employees already have an industry-leading contract providing the best wages, benefits, and work rules in the industry. We also know that we have provided complete job security for our Employees during our 43-year history and there is no other IAM covered work group that can claim that track record.

“Borrowing IAM’s phrase from their news release, Southwest is only hell-bent on providing our People a stable work environment and the same caring attitude that we show every Southwest Customer. We are committed to negotiating in good faith and honoring our deep commitment to the People of Southwest.

“Moreover, it is a top Southwest priority to reach a new contract as soon as possible with IAM that provides flexibility, an industry-leading compensation package and continued job security for all Employees. We look forward to a productive mediation process.”

The IAM represents about 6,000 Southwest employees. Its contract with the airline became amendable in October 2012.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said Monday it has asked the National Mediation Board to enter its contract talks with the carrier.

The union represents about 6,000 Southwest customer service agents and representatives.

Here are the comments from IAM District 142 President Tom Higginbotham:

“Southwest earned nearly a billion dollars last year, is on pace to report a larger profit for this year, has the most productive workforce in the airline industry and yet refuses to offer any real improvements.

“Management is hell-bent to move to a risky variable compensation system as opposed to offering guaranteed wage increases. It’s clear this is a numbers oriented airline instead of a people oriented airline. …

“Southwest has merged its way to super-profits and is doing everything it can to stonewall its employees from sharing fairly in the success they’ve worked so hard to create. This is greed, pure and simple and the IAM will not stand for it.”

Most of Southwest’s labor contracts are “amendable,” and talks have been going on with various unions. The IAM contract for the customer service people became amendable in October 2012.

UPDATEd, Tuesday, 12:20 p.m.: Will passenger service agents at the new American Airlines want union representation?

In about a month, we’ll know. In a vote overseen by the National Mediation Board, airport and reservations employees are voting whether they want a union and whether they want the CWA-IBT Association to be that union.

The CWA lost a close vote in 2013. But since then, American and US Airways merged, and the CWA-IBT Association already represented US Airways passenger service agents, the IBT being the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

The month-long vote began Friday and is to conclude on Sept. 15.UPDATE: American Airlines informs me the vote will end at 2 p.m. EDT Sept. 16, per NMB instructions.

(There does seem to be a small hitch. Employees are being told to use an access code from page one of their ballot, not another access code on page 2.)

In its findings, the NMB quoted the long list of steps that parent American Airlines Group has done to put the two airlines under common control since the carriers’ Dec. 9, 2013, merger.

“USAPA argues that the Carriers have not substantially integrated their operations. While conceding that integration has occurred at the corporate level, USAPA argues that the New American has not removed any public indicia of US Airways, that separate livery still exists, that separate websites continues, and that separate crew management computer systems in use and that many important terms and conditions of pilot employment remain separate with no established date for integration,” the NMB wrote in its decision.

“It is well-settled, however, that the Board’s criteria for substantial integration of operations do not require total integration of operations,” the ruling stated. “In this case, the integration may not be total but it is substantial.”

In a hotline message, APA said that it and any intervenor have 30 days, or until Sept. 7, “to file an application supported by a showing of interest” from at least 50 percent of the eligible members of a bargaining unit.

“APA has previously submitted evidence to the NMB that we represent approximately two-thirds of the combined pilot group,” APA said. “At the end of the 30-day period, the NMB will either certify APA as the bargaining agent for the pilots of American Airlines or call for an election between APA and no union.”

American Airlines spokesman Paul Flaningan noted that the NMB ruling was the latest action recognizing the carrier as a single transportation system.

“”With today’s ruling by the NMB, the momentum continues as we work to combine our two carriers,” Flaningan said. “In the past several weeks the NMB has ruled in favor of single carrier status with our passenger service, flight attendant and pilot workgroups. In addition, our fleet service and maintenance and related workgroups filed for single carrier status earlier this week.”

USAPA informed its members in a hotline after the NMB issued its decision, with details promised for later.

The National Mediation Board concluded Tuesday that American Airlines and US Airways are a “single transportation system,” as requested by the flight attendant unions of the two carriers.The next step probably will be for the NMB to find that the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the union representing American’s flight attendants, is the collective bargaining agent for the flight attendants of both carriers.

APFA and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents US Airways flight attendants, had reached an agreement in late January that APFA would be the union for both American Airlines and US Airways flight attendants.

The NMB now has a 30-day waiting period to see if any other union steps up with a “showing of interest” from more than 50 percent of the two carriers’ flight attendants. If no such contender arises and AFA doesn’t seek to assert itself, APFA would become the sole union representative.

The NMB ruling stated that as of May 31, American had 15,685 flight attendants and US Airways had 8,387.

Negotiators for the flight attendants and American began talks in April for a joint contract that would replace the separate APFA-American and AFA-US Airways contracts. The deadline for a deal is Sept. 17.

“This is just great news for the flight attendants,” APFA spokeswoman Leslie Mayo said. “We just continue to move forward to our new contract. We’re working well together with AFA.”

“We see this as another positive step in the integration of our two carriers,” American spokesman Paul Flaningan said.

UPDATE, 2:30 p.m.: The AFA reminded members that:

This decision does not change AFA’s legal standing as the representative of Flight Attendants at pre-merger US Airways. It is a step in the process that, under the ratified Agreement on Bargaining and Representation (ABR) will conclude with APFA representation of all Flight Attendants at the new American.”

A few points to note immediately:

AFA remains the representative of pre-merger US Airways Flight Attendants until the NMB certifies APFA, which will occur no earlier than 30 days from today.

AFA remains an equal partner in negotiations for the single Contract at the new American.

The AFA/US Airways contract remains in full force and effect until the new contract is implemented and AFA will enforce the contract throughout this period, even after APFA becomes the representative. Further, the US Airways contract provides leverage and value in shaping the single contract at the new American.

Current AFA leaders will transition to APFA Board member positions, and AFA Local and MEC structures will remain in place until the new contract is implemented in order to facilitate enforcement of the pre-merger US Airways contract.

If you have not done so already, sign an APFA membership card/Dues Check Off form immediately and return to an AFA lock box in the domicile in order to ensure your right to vote and other union membership privileges are not interrupted.

BACK TO ORIGINAL ITEM: Last week, the NMB issued a “single transportation system” ruling covering passenger service agents at American, where such employees have no union, and US Airways, where such employees are presented by the Communications Workers of America.

Since American has more employees in that class and craft that US Airways, the NMB has called for an election. The Aug. 15-Sept. 15 vote will determine whether those employees will be represented by a union and, if so, which union. The CWA is mounting a campaign to continue representing those employees at the combined company.

The NMB is also considering a petition from American’s pilot union, the Allied Pilots Association, for single transportation designation.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters said Friday it is giving up its effort to organize the mechanics and related employees at American Airlines.

The IBT announced its withdrawal with a letter and blamed its decision on the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit that seeks to block the US Airways-American merger.

Here’s a statement from Teamsters spokesman Bret Caldwell:

The Teamsters Union has determined that the recent announcement that the federal government will fight the proposed merger between US Airways and American Airlines places the workers at American Airlines in significant turmoil. American Airlines’ emergence from bankruptcy has been cast into doubt and the union has determined that the continued conflict between labor organizations is not in the best interest of the workers. This is not a time for workers to fight among themselves.

More than 6,000 American Airlines mechanics and related personnel signed cards to make the Teamsters their bargaining representative. The Teamsters want to thank those men and women for joining us in the fight to improve their wages and working conditions. As the largest union of airline mechanics and related personnel in the nation, the Teamsters will continue to set the standard for good wages, strong benefits, real job security and workplace dignity in this industry.

The Transport Workers Union, which now represents those employees at American, issued this statement from international president James Little:

We’re pleased that the Teamsters realized that this raid of TWU members at American Airlines was both wasteful and divisive.

Now that we do not have the distraction of an unnecessary campaign among already organized workers, we can redouble our efforts on battling the Department of Justice’s unjustified legal challenge to the proposed merger of American Airlines and US Airways. The combined airline will protect good-paying U.S. jobs and benefit consumers by creating a real alternative to the Delta/United duopoly. TWU members are focused on working out the best possible terms of employment at the new American Airlines.

When the Teamsters challenged our union it brought TWU members together. Today, we’re better prepared to address the concerns of workers at American, who have been through a difficult bankruptcy, and to make sure they have the best possible representation on the job.

The Teamsters had also attempted to get mechanics and related employees to switch allegiance from the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. In results announced Monday, the IAM retained its position, with the Teamsters getting only 42 percent of the vote.

The TWU had accused the Teamsters of submitted forged signature cards when the Teamsters submitted its application for a representation election. The Teamsters had asked for two delays to respond to the allegations, but on Friday, pulled its application.

The Communications Workers of America is taking out newspaper ads in Dallas (the Dallas Morning News) and Washington on Thursday to tell its side in its battle with American Airlines .

The National Mediation Board, with the CWA, recently won a fight before the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of appeals to let the NMB proceed with a representation vote by American’s passenger service agents.

The NMB has scheduled a vote by the AA employees for Dec. 4 to Jan. 15, while American is appealing its appeals court loss to the U.S. Supreme Court and asking the appeals court to let American put the vote on hold while it gets an answer from the high court.

The gist of the CWA ad campaign, plus visits to congressional offices in Washington, D.C., on Thursday and Friday, is to put pressure on American to quit stalling.

“Flights aren’t all that American Airlines delays,” the ad has as its headline.

“The right to vote. It’s the most fundamental American right there is. But American Airlines hasn’t stopped trying to block passenger service agents from exercising their democratic rights, now for more than a year,” the ad’s body reads.

In Tuesday’s Dallas Morning News, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants took out an ad to acknowledge the delays that passengers have endured and to thank the customers for sticking with American Airlines.

But it was mostly a public airing of the union’s unhappiness with the carrier’s management and the APFA’s support for a merger with US Airways.

“While our competitors had the vision and foresight to consolidate networks and operations, American’s executives decided to weather the storm with employee concessions. With up to one-third of our salaries and beneﬁts sacriﬁced, our contributions were squandered. During this time, our competitors introduced innovative and attractive products and networks while American lagged behind with an aging ﬂeet and diminishing routes.

“We, the employees, did everything we could to save American. We have continued to deliver the most professional on board experience possible with the tools we are provided. Despite our efforts and our sacriﬁces, we lost some of our most valued customers, many of whom we came to know by name.”

The battle between the National Mediation Board and American Airlines has moved to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

On Tuesday, the NMB asked the appeals court to expedite its appeal of a U.S. District Court decision in June that kept the NMB from holding an election of American’s passenger service agents.

The Communications Workers of America in December asked the NMB to hold a representation election, based on existing rules that required at least 35 percent of eligible voters to have signed signature cards.

On Feb. 14, Congress passed a federal law that a 50 percent “showing of interest” was required. American argued, and U.S. District Judge Terry Means agreed, that the higher standard was in effect.

The NMB in its appeal reasserted that the board should have applied the 35 percent threshold in effect when the CWA asked for the election, not the 50 percent threshold enacted while the NMB was considering the CWA application.

The board said an expedited appeal would be “in keeping with the RLA’s [Railway Labor Act’s] mandate for the ‘prompt’ resolution of labor-management disputes.”

American in a filing Tuesday said it took no position on the board’s request to speed up the appeals court process.

The appeals court without comment on July 2 had rejected the CWA’s June 28 motion for an expedited appeal. The NMB’s filing Tuesday suggested that it was because the CWA was not the primary defendant in the U.S. District Court case; the NMB was.

American Airlines spokesman Bruce Hicks offered this comment on U.S. District Judge Terry Means’ ruling Friday that the National Mediation Board was wrong to require support from only 35 percent of passenger service agents to call a union election.

“We are pleased the U.S. District Court has ruled that ‘American’s position prevails’ and our employees’ rights are protected regarding the CWA’s application for a representation election.

“The case boils down to this: Current law says a union must get support from at least 50 percent of employees it hopes to unionize in order to hold an election. The CWA has admitted it was unable to meet that mark.

“As always, American respects the National Mediations Board’s commitment to upholding the law and our employee’s right to free choice on issues of unionization. We’re going to continue to move forward and focus on strengthening our operation and serving our customers.”